League of Legends has evolved massively since its launch over a decade ago - and it's only getting more changes with the upcoming League of Legends Wild Rift game on mobile and consoles.
While many see League of Legend's foray into mobile and consoles as a side project at best, others see it as the next evolution of the gigantic MOBA.
So is Wild Rift the future of League of Legends?
Latest - Wild Rift Beta Arrives in Americas
After months of beta testing around the world, LoL Wild Rift has arrived to the Americas. That means NA finally has its hands on the game.
You can download Wild Rift in the Apple app store here, and the Google Play store here.
What is Wild Rift?
Wild Rift is a new game that will bring League of Legends to console and mobile.
While it will have all the nuts and bolts of League of Legends, it has different stats, items, champions, and more based on different patches entirely.
The game will be balanced independently of League of Legends, because it will be treated as its own game (and for good reason).
Will Wild Rift Improve League of Legends?
While Wild Rift may look like League of Legends - veterans will see the differences in the game immediately.
For starters, damage, gold returns, gold costs and other numbers are entirely different in LoL Wild Rift. These numbers lend themselves to much faster matches with massive gold return from creeps.
This new gameplay is where the argument of Wild Rift vs League of Legends begins.
READ MORE: LoL Wild Rift Release Date Window Revealed
Wild Rift is Big for New Players
Wild Rift makes League of Legends gameplay more palatable for new players, a problem the game has had for years. So Wild Rift gameplay can be described as much more casual, that's not entirely a bad thing.
Wild Rift has the potential more than any recent move from Riot Games to increase the League of Legends population with new players.
In this way, Wild Rift could be a huge deal for the future of the game.
Wild Rift Does Little for LoL Veterans
League of Legends players are a dedicated bunch, and you can expect a good portion of this playerbase to try out Wild Rift on mobile or console.
But despite the new frills Wild Rift brings to Summoner's Rift, we don't expect Wild Rift will captivate these League of Legends veterans enough to leave the PC version of the game.
With an overly simplified store and system for making gold with much shorter matches, Wild Rift will likely be treated as a fun custom game mode like ARAM for most League of Legends players.
READ MORE: LoL 11.7: Early Patch Notes Reveal Big Changes
Verdict
In the end, Wild Rift has some appeal to it by shaking up the League of Legends formula in several ways. For this reason, we expect many LoL players and prospective players will give the game a try.
But despite these new frills being useful to appeal to new or more casual players, Wild Rift will not be the next step for League of Legends' development, and won't do much to maintain a more experienced population of players.
In the end, Wild Rift will be a fun, casual approach to League of Legends, but will never live up to the real thing.
READ MORE: LoL 11.6: Full Patch Notes, Changes, Skins & more